The Race to the New World: Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, and a Lost History of Discovery

Every schoolchild knows that "in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue"—but what they don't teach you in history class is that he wasn't the only one. In The Race to the New World, Douglas Hunter tells for the first time the fascinating tale of how Christopher Columbus was embroiled in a high-stakes race with Venetian John Cabot to find a shortcut to the East—and how they found a New World that neither was looking for. Employing fresh research and new translations of critical documents, Hunter reveals the surprisingly intertwined lives of the fabled explorer and his forgotten rival, and provides a fresh perspective on the first years of the European discovery of the New World.